1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disc device. More specifically, the invention relates to a disc device in which a disc recording medium or a cartridge receiving a disc recording medium is capable of being selectively inserted/ejected.
2. Description of Related Art
Disc devices which receive record media and perform recording and reproducing vary in structure due to the inserted recording medium types. Generally speaking, disc devices can be divided into 2 types, slot-in type and cartridge inserting type. The disc device of slot-in type can be directly inserted into by a disc recording medium. The disc device of cartridge inserting type can be inserted into by a cartridge, within which a disc recording medium is loaded.
In the slot-in type of disc device, when a disc is inserted into the slender insertion hole on the front bezel, a roller pair installed inside the disc device is in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the disc to rotate the disc. Therefore, when a disc is manually inserted into the insertion hole, the roller pair will rotate and will be pulled to a predetermined loading position inside the disc device.
In the cartridge inserting type of disc device, when a cartridge is inserted into the insertion hole on the front bezel, the cartridge is pulled inside the disc device by the cartridge transporting mechanism installed inside the disc device. Therefore, when a disc is manually inserted into the insertion hole, the transporting mechanism is driven and transported to a predetermined loading position inside the disc device.
In the cartridge inserting type of disc device for inserting a cartridge receiving a disc recording medium, a well-known structure is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open no. 8-138302 for instance. In the conventional disc device disclosed in the Publication, the door is opened by pressing the inserting side of the cartridge when inserting the cartridge into the insertion hole. At the same time, the cartridge is inserted into the holder disposed on an inner side of the insertion hole. The holder where the cartridge is inserted moves downward, and the disc inside the cartridge is clamped on the turntable. To record or to reproduce information is performed by a pick up head.
As described above, because the holder descends to the loading position, it is necessary to prevent other recording medium from being inserted into the insertion hole. Therefore, in the disc device of the Publication as described above, a slider capable of sliding and a cartridge-double-inserting preventing member (shutter member) are installed on the holder to prevent double inserting of a cartridge.
Therefore, in the conventional disc device, by inserting the cartridge the holder descends to the loading position as the slider slides, and the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member descends at the same time to close the insertion hole from inside. Therefore, when the cartridge is loaded inside the disc device, the other cartridge will be prevented from being inserted into the insertion hole since the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member has closed the insertion hole.
However, in the conventional disc device, the recording medium that can be used is limited to either slot-in type or cartridge inserting type. For example, a cartridge cannot be used in the disc device of disc slot-in type, while a disc cannot be used in the disc device of cartridge inserting type. In the conventional disc device, users have to check which type the disc device is in order to choose the right recording medium, causing inconvenience.
Additionally, in the disc device, where a loading device of tray type is installed, the disc and the cartridge are loaded onto the tray, thus the tray is bigger than the cartridge, and the tray needs a relatively larger space for sliding, and it is difficult to make the disc device slimmer.
To prepare different disc devices according to the types of recording media causes inconvenience to users, so a disc device capable of using any kind of recording media is desired. However, a recording medium without a cartridge and a cartridge for receiving a recording medium are very different not only in shape, but also in width, depth and thickness. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a loading device capable of inserting and ejecting a recording medium and a cartridge. In particular, it is also difficult to open or close the door for shuttering the insertion hole according to the cartridge inserting/ejecting operation.
Furthermore, in the conventional disc device described in the above Publication, before inserting a cartridge, the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member retrocedes above the holder. Therefore, a space above the holder is needed for the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member to retrocede into, so that the disc device cannot be made slimmer.
Furthermore, in the conventional disc device described in the above Publication, the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member moves together with the up and down of the holder in the same direction. Even though the height of the cartridge-double-inserting preventing member is minimized, slimming the disc device is still limited.